


Behind the Poker Face

by Destiny Aitsuji (ravenabi)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27775297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenabi/pseuds/Destiny%20Aitsuji
Summary: They like each other but neither of them wants to admit it. She offers tarot reading and he kisses her.
Kudos: 3





	Behind the Poker Face

**Behind the Poker Face**

Seated at a small round table while the hours were growing late, Cana and Laxus took turns throwing down cards on the table. It was a solemn game of poker after Cana had deemed it boring to stay up drinking alone on an autumn night. Laxus agreed to it seeing the woman would bother the others if he did not agree. Also, secretly he hoped this would give him a chance to read behind that poker face of hers.

"Fold." Cana discards her cards and draws new ones.

Laxus looks at his hand and smirks. "Raise."

A few minutes passed and Cana called it. Laxus followed suit and they opened their cards. She had a Full House and looked pleased. Laxus let the cards speak for themselves with a smug look. Cana's jaw slackens in disbelief.

"Five of a Kind three times in a row… you have got to be kidding me…"

Laxus shrugged and took a swig of his mug. The alcohol burned his throat pleasantly. "Lady Luck is favouring me tonight."

Cana huffed. She kept the cards away and Laxus drained the last of the dregs in the mug. The stars were shining brilliantly over Magnolia. "Reminds me of her eyes when she does fortune-telling…"

Cana observes Laxus curiously. The dragon slayer did not usually hang around with other members in Fairy Tail besides Raijinshuu. She never liked him much but after the Tenroujima episode, she was beginning to see him in a new light.

"Hey Laxus," Cana called out. The lightning dragon slayer looked at her with half-lidded eyes. "How about some fortune-telling?"

Laxus chuckled as the mug was placed on the table. "You want to do fortune telling for me?"

Cana nodded. Her heart hammered in her chest. It was a good chance for her to get to know him better.  _ "I might even get to clarify if he is the one my cards had been hinting about." _

"Sure, why not? You are the only one other than Gildarts who I have never done fortune telling for."

Laxus cocked an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

Cana shrugged casually. She tried to play it cool and Laxus saw through her nervousness. He sighed. "I don't believe in handing my fate over to a bunch of cards."

Cana paused. She burst out in laughter. Laxus blushed. It must be the alcohol getting to him. 

"What?" he growled.

Cana gasped for air and the laughing simmered to occasional giggles. "Laxus, fortune-telling in my case isn't about handing people's fates over to my cards. They are merely a reflection of the things inside of you. I'm not a clairvoyant like Charles. I can't see the future."

Laxus was surprised. "I thought fortune-telling meant prying into the future. Why else would people go for fortune-telling?"

Cana's eyes twinkled. "Could it be because they needed answers to some things?"

"Things like…?"

"How about love?"

The question Cana asked hung in the air for a while. Laxus was itching to know what the woman had in mind but her poker face was too flawless. Taking the bait, Laxus agreed.

Cana consulted her cards and began the divination while Laxus shifted uncomfortably from time to time.

She shuffled the cards and told Laxus to help her pick out three cards. Placing them on the table, Cana flipped them open one by one and Laxus looked confused. He’d never seen a fortune-telling session. Wasn’t this a little too casual? Shouldn’t fortune-telling be a little bit more… mysterious? This didn’t feel any different from their game of poker earlier.

Cana stared at the opened cards for a moment before smiling fondly. Her hand hovered over the first card that was an inverted Knight of Wands. 

"The Inverted Knight of Wands represents a person who is chaotically searching for answers. In other words, this person was once lost and blinded by his passion that could have caused harm to the people he loves. He loves too greatly and holds too dearly. Such passion may suffocate and kill the people he wants to keep. However this is all in the past, he has found the answer that he seeks and has moved on."

Laxus frowned. He was reminded about the time he tried to take over as the next master of the guild. He had harmed many of his friends and family here. He nearly destroyed Magnolia with it. Cana's warm hand on his shoulder broke him out of the dark thoughts. 

"It's over Laxus. You are not the same as you were." 

Laxus smiled.  _ "Why is it that her words would always save me?" _

Cana moved to the next card. "Judgment is upon you. When upright, the Gods have passed their verdict and you are now free to break away from the chains of the past holding you back. Take this chance to start your life anew. You have been forgiven."

The card magician smiled. She remembered how glad she was that Laxus stood by with them on Tenroujima. She was so happy that Gildarts reinstated Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail. Sure, he might have hurt and harmed many people but everyone deserved a second chance at life. She was secretly happy that the other Fairy Tail guild members were also kind enough to forgive him the way she did.

As she moved on to the final card, she hesitated. Should she tell Laxus? Laxus saw the hesitation in her eyes and placed his hand over hers. Cana blushed. His hands were so huge and warm. It made her feel safe. 

"You don't have to read it out if you don't want to. I'm more than content knowing this."

Cana looked into his eyes. She borrowed his strength from within to resolve herself. "I'll see it to the end." 

Laxus merely nodded. Cana was that kind of girl, always independent and responsible even from a young age while Natsu and Gray fooled around. Even though not many people knew it, he had always thought of her as one of the guild’s pillars.

As Cana's hand hovered over the upright Queen of Swords she could hardly mask her composure.  _ "What if he finds out?" _

"The Queen of Swords… is a very special card. It's not relevant to those two previous cards at all."

Laxus whispered, "Is it bad?"

Cana shook her head. "No. It just describes a person. The first card I read describes your darker pasts, the second card I read indicates what troubles you but the third card would represent a close future. It could represent your desires or it could indicate something happening in the near future…"

Laxus guffawed. "Didn't you say these cards aren't going to determine my future? What are you so worried about? Unless… you are lying."

Cana flinched. "I didn't lie!" Her heart throbbed. 

Immediately memories of her betrayal to Lucy back on Tenroujima haunted her. Laxus maintained a passive face as he watched Cana's mask crack slightly.

The moment Cana realized Laxus was staring, she pulled back and donned the perfect poker face again. "Anyway, you can choose not to believe in this. The Queen of Swords represents a person who is often a leader in a family or social group. She is extremely loyal to the people she loved but could be stubborn at times. She often appears strong and reliable yet a little distant."

Cana kept the cards quickly before Laxus could ask questions. "There, that was fortune-telling. It wasn't too bad was it?" Cana flashed a practised smile at Laxus. The dragon slayer paid no heed to her words. Too clouded by alcohol, he moved on instinct.

"Laxus?"

Cana's eyes widened as their lips sealed. Tongue invaded her and she could taste the alcohol heavy on Laxus. Heady from the lack of oxygen from the deep kiss, Cana began to crumble to the floor when Laxus pulled away the right moment, allowing her to get the much-needed air.

"You are my Queen of Swords."

Cana blushed heavily at those words. Laxus was confessing to her!  _ "Wait! These are words from a drunkard. There's no way to be sure of it…" _

Before she could ask Laxus anything, the man slumped onto the ground. He was out cold and Cana sighed. She watched his resting face and smiled. At least tonight's fortune-telling session made progress. 

"I wonder if he will remember anything from the fortune-telling."

A while later, Makarov who was watching everything from the roof of Fairy Tail smiled knowingly as Cana and his grandson drank themselves to sleep in the middle of the guildhall. He put away the mugs for washing in the morning and draped a blanket over them. It would only be a matter of time before they started going out. Mirajane was definitely good at picking out all the latest gossip. When this silly grandson of his tells him that he was going out with Cana he would have his fun teasing the hell out of the both of them.

"I can't wait… grow up well my children."

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